The Netflix original series “Living with Yourself” uses an unfamiliar environment to challenge our sense of morals.
The show starts out with a married, stressed man, named Miles, played by Paul Rudd, who is seeking a way to improve his current life, which he views as wholly unsatisfying. This leads him to be given a recommendation from his colleague to go to a spa named “Top Happy Spa,” in order to rejuvenate his DNA.
During his trip to the “Spa,” he is sedated and cloned, establishing the premise of the show. He wakes up hours later buried in the woods, and after digging himself out, he returns home to find that his clone has replaced him. His clone is sharper, more polite and the idealized version of him.
In the next episode, another main premise of the show is introduced: showing multiple perspectives of the same story. The show displays the same story from the points of view of the three main characters: Miles, Miles’ clone and Miles’ wife Kate, played by Aisling Bea. This introduces the theme that there are two sides to every story, while keeping tension as the viewers have to wait in anticipation watching every perspective before a cliffhanger is resolved.
The show also has an overarching love triangle between the three. Kate’s love for the clone’s superior traits leads to romantic tension, and she begins to question her morals and loyalty for her husband.
Reactions to the show were mixed but mostly positive. Critics praised Rudd’s completely new method of playing a double part, stating his acting skills and comedic chops were on full display, while others criticized his acting, saying he stretched himself too thin juggling two different parts.
Rudd portrayed the two characters over two separate takes, with no stand-in actor as reference, which is the norm. He listened to other takes with a hidden earpiece. This method of playing two roles together has not been done before and allows for more flexibility with shots during post-production. This reduces the risk of requiring scenes to be completely redone due to mistakes involving the stand-in.
The show displays a unique outlook on modern day comedy-dramas. Rudd executed a brilliant dual act, perfectly balancing the up-tight clone and the increasingly desperate original Miles. The cast’s comedic experience and solid writing eliminate much of the existential dread that could have sullied the show’s mostly comedic tone. The premise of the show is executed in a unique manner, despite showing surface similarities to other older shows and movies. The digital insertion of either version of Miles was never too jarring, and effectively shows the potential of the new method of digitally implementing a double act.
Despite being a comedy at its core, “Living With Yourself” also manages to pose interesting questions to viewers. Rudd’s characters are constantly attempting to subvert each other, leading to questions about the morality of their actions. Overall, “Living With Yourself” is a satisfying change of pace when held against the repetitive comedy-sitcoms that dominate today’s television, wholly deserving of the praise it is receiving.
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